Media Design School alumni shine at the 2025 Axis Awards and Young Lions Competition
Media Design School’s AdSchool alumni made a major impact at this year’s Axis Awards, taking home the Student Axis, Emerging Talent Axis, and multiple Young Lions trophies—including Gold.
Says Kate Humphries, Programme Leader at MDS AdSchool: “Huge congratulations from everyone at MDS to Willow Whitham & Zac Riddell (FCB) for making it through 3 rounds of judging to win the Student Axis Award for KinSultants at The Axis Awards last Thursday. Three rowdy cheers also to Robert Laking & Herman Ulberg (DDB) for winning the hotly contested Axis Emerging Talent Award; and high-fives all around to the five AdSchool alumni who were named Young Lion Winners at Axis Speaks with Reece O’Gorman & James Sandham taking out the Bronze Young Lion; Harry Pfiszter & Max Taptiklis (Colenso) winning the Silver Young Lion; and Conal Wilson (Daylight) for taking out the Gold Young Lion (along with Kara Gouws from DDB) both of whom will soon be jetting off to Cannes to represent Aotearoa in the International Young Lions competition.
“A grateful thank you to Simon, Laura and Kirsten the Comms Council for getting the Student Axis show on the road with the competition itself, the briefing, as well as organising the judging panels and the feedback sessions. And our absolute gratitude to the pre-Axis judging panel of Tom Paine from Pitchblack & Partners; Arnya Karaitiana from Special Group; Dan Wright from Deloitte Digital; Angelo An and Alan Jones from FCB for their invaluable feedback through two exhaustive rounds of judging which saw them whittling down all the Student Axis submissions from MDS, AUT and further afield to the final three ideas that went forward to executive judging at Axis.
“A standing ovation to all AdSchool alumni whose work on ideas including Export’s Ultra Cold Call Back Service, Spark’s Killabyte, Pedigree’s Adoptable, Vogel’s Certified Toaster, and the Ministry of Social Development’s Love Creep which saw them trotting back and forth all night to pick up award after award.
“Three big cheers to the Comms council firstly for what I hear was a wonderfully decorous night at Axis this year, and secondly for another excellent Axis Speaks lineup, which all our 2025 intake were able to attend thanks to the student-priced tickets you made available to MDS.”
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